‘The Witcher’ Proves Magical Showcase for Poland’s Rising Post-Production and VFX Industry

EXCLUSIVE: VFX outfit Outpost has bolstered UK operations with a new London studio now open for business.

Ncuti Gatwa has made the cut for Time's Top 100 Next list among a heap of other stars.

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters had his tour dates in Poland cancelled amid outrage over his stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to Polish media and statements from the artist.

Manori Ravindran International Editor European training program School of Film Advancement (SOFA), which aims to strengthen regional film industries across Europe with a focus on Eastern partnership, has launched its ninth edition and 2022-2023 project selection. The first SOFA workshop, running through Sept. 30, kicked off on Sunday outside the Polish capital of Warsaw. After two virtual years, the program returns with an expanded edition that comprises a line-up of 16 projects and 20 participants, composed of up-and-coming film industry executives, curators and cultural managers from 17 countries including Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Bangladesh, Switzerland and Germany.

Selome Hailu Hannah Gadsby has entered a multi-title deal at Netflix, under which they will tape their a new stand-up special for the streamer, in addition to hosting and producing another multi-comic special featuring gender-diverse comedians. Gadsby’s new hour-long special will premiere in 2023 and comes from the Australian leg of their most recently world tour, titled “Body of Work.” Taped at the Sydney Opera House with assistance from the Sydney Opera House trust, it will be Gadsby’s third piece of stand-up comedy for Netflix, following on the specials “Nanette” — which became a phenomenon in 2018 — and “Douglas” from 2020. The multi-comic special will be taped next year, with premiere timing yet to be announced. Along with spotlighting performers of various gender identities, the cast will also be chosen from several countries.

A concert venue in Kraków, Poland has canceled two upcoming shows by onetime Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters following recent comments the singer-songwriter made about the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has canceled upcoming concerts in Poland over backlash prompted by his beliefs about Russia's war against Ukraine, which he attributes to "extreme nationalists" in Ukraine. Waters was initially planning to perform two concerts at the Tauron Arena in Krakowin in April, but an arena official confirmed the events have been scrapped. "Roger Waters’ manager decided to withdraw ...

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The Danes may have surpassed the French in clashing with streamers. The Danish Producers’ Association and Create Denmark, the guild representing writers, actors and directors, among others, have been involved in a bitter dispute over fees and rights with local and global streaming services including Netflix and Viaplay since January. While Viaplay signed a temporary agreement over the summer which is valid through December, other services, including Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+ and Amazon Prime have fully stopped the development or production of Danish content since January. The estimated loss of revenue for the country is approximately $200 million, according to Lene Børglum, a leading producer in Denmark whose credits includes Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Only God Forgives” and “Copenhagen Cowboy” which Netflix had ordered way before the start of the dispute. The series world premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

A group of the biggest Danish production companies have penned an open letter to Netflix, Viaplay and other major streamers urging them to recommission local content or risk “a decimation of half the industry” after estimating the sector will lose up to 1.5B DKK ($200M).

BreAnna Bell “Cobra Kai” is still kicking at the top of Netflix’s Top 10 list following its Season 5 premiere on Sept. 9. During the Sept. 12-Sept. 18 viewing window, the show scored 95.6 million hours viewed –– which is still a high note despite its drop from the prior week’s astounding 107 million hours watched. Sliding in at No. 2 is Season 2 of “Fate: The Winx Saga.” The new installment debuted on the streaming service on Sept. 16, raking in 49 million hours watched in its first three days of availability. Season 1 of “The Crown” continued its reign on the list, moving up to the third spot with 40.8 million hours viewed, while Season 2 of the series entered the list with 16.7 million hours viewed.

Naman Ramachandran AGC International, the international sales and distribution arm of Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, has revealed a raft of pre-sales on Richard Linklater’s “Hitman” and Anna Kendrick’s “The Dating Game.” “Hitman” will begin production in New Orleans in early October and “The Dating Game” in Vancouver later the same month. “The Dating Game,” which marks Kendrick’s directorial debut, tells the chilling true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala, who appeared on popular U.S. dating program “The Dating Game” — and was selected to go on a date with contestant Cheryl Bradshaw (to be played by Kendrick) — before his grisly crimes were ultimately exposed.

The topic of streaming loomed large over the first session of San Sebastian’s new Creative Investors’ Conference featuring a keynote by Wild Bunch co-founder Vincent Maraval.

9-1-1: Lone Star. Ready as ever to be getting back into the swing of things is Rob Lowe, and he brought out a dad joke to prove that he fits the parental role both on screen and off. And of course, his real-life sons couldn’t help but to call him out for it.

You would drive past Bee Rogi every day of the week. I did, twice in fact, when I was trying to find it, ending up in a seemingly never ending loop around Denton - Haughton Green to be precise - until I spotted it, tucked in between the post office and the florist.

Lewis Milestone’s 1930 classic, All Quiet On The Western Front was based on the 1928 novel by Erich Maria Remarque and became the first adaptation of a book to win the Oscar for Best Picture, as well as the first Best Picture Oscar winner to also take Best Director. It has hardly been touched by filmmakers since then save for a TV Movie remake by director Delbert Mann in 1979 that starred Richard Thomas. Now that has changed, and in a significant way , as the book has finally been taken on by Germany with director Edward Berger’s (Patrick Melrose, Your Honor) adaptation (co-written with Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell) that finally shows us the perspective from the German side. It has already been selected as the German entry for the 95th Academy Awards Best International Film race, and just had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival today.

Nicolas Winding Refn says that the characters in his upcoming Netflix series Copenhagen Cowboy, are a “female evolution” of characters from previous projects such as Valhalla Rising, Drive and Only God Forgives.

Ending a stretch of almost three months when Stranger Things was No. 1 or No. 2, The Sandman knocked it down to third place for the week of August 8 to 14. Nielsen said the fantasy drama series won the week with almost 1.4 billion minutes of viewing.

“I don’t think all streamers are created equal, “ Bob Iger bluntly said today at the 2022 Code Conference. “I don’t think they’ll all make it.”

Ed Meza @edmezavar French animation group Xilam continues to book sales of hit toon series while enticing buyers with new offshoots of flagship properties. Xilam’s most popular shows remain “Oggy and the Cockroaches,” about a lazy cat who is constantly pestered by three roaches, and “Zig & Sharko,” which follow the adversarial relationship between a ravenous brown hyena and a good-natured great white shark. The company’s highlights at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous TV market in Biarritz include two new “Oggy” shows. “’Oggy’ has been on the market for almost 25 years,” explains Morgann Favennec, Xilam’s executive vice president of distribution. “It’s been broadcast everywhere. It’s still huge in India, for instance, which is why we will be launching a new Oggy called ‘Oggy and the Cockroaches: Next Generation,’ introducing a new character, which is an Indian elephant.”

Christopher Vourlias One year before its upcoming premiere in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section, Polish director Damian Kocur’s feature debut “Bread and Salt” screened for a select audience of industry tastemakers in Wrocław, Poland. In 2019, Jan Komasa’s “Corpus Christi” played in the same showcase for upcoming Polish films before launching its campaign for best international feature ahead of the 92nd Academy Awards. It’s an indication of the growing muscle of Wrocław’s New Horizons Film Festival and its industry arm, Polish Days, that producers, festival programmers, sales agents and distributors from around the globe make the summer trek to the historic university city, with its Gothic and Baroque architectural marvels situated on the Oder River.